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Being at Mississippi State seems right for Abram

Just take one moment and examine Johnathan Abram’s journey to Starkville and try and argue against a divine plan set forth for the talented safety.

Abram grew up in the state of Mississippi and prepped at East Marion. He took in several high school camps along the way at Mississippi State and began to emerge as one of the state’s top safeties in a loaded class of 2015 within the state.

While the Bulldogs nabbed Jamal Peters and Mark McLaurin at the position, Abram decided to make his own path and commit to Georgia. During that same recruiting process, Louisville defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and assistant Terrell Buckley were high on Abram and he admired their style of play and their ability to recruit.

Fast-forward two years later, Abram is coming off of his first two games back in the Southeastern Conference, and this time, he’s in maroon and white. He’s playing with his friends from those high school days and for coaches that he respected.

It all feels right for Abram, who seems to be settled in where he belonged from the beginning.

“That’s the fun part just getting a chance to play with all of my friends,” Abram said. “That’s what really just helps drive our team. It’s like playing with brothers.”

Before Abram could come full circle and ultimately end up in Starkville, he took a journey east to a historic Georgia program led by one of the nation’s top defensive coordinators in Jeremy Pruitt.

After a solid spring, he was in the starting conversation heading into fall camp of his true freshman season. Abram eventually nailed down that starting job making four starts in his 10 games played and making 25 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss.

Pruitt left for Alabama and Abram followed suit taking the junior college route in order to not miss a season of play. He went to Jones County, closer to home, and was immediately the best player on the field for the Bobcats.
Nearly every school in the SEC began to come calling for Abram and he listened. In the end, the ties that he had on campus from that 2015 recruiting class kept coming back to mind.

Signing with MSU in February got Abram back in the SEC and closer to his ultimate dream of playing in the SEC. He regrets nothing of his journey to get there.

“I really learned a lot at Georgia," Abram said. "We could talk all day about everything I learned. It really helped me notice that I wasn’t where I needed or wanted to be as a football player or as a person. That ultimately led me to be (at MSU).”

Coaches and players alike have raved about Abram’s attention to detail in the film room and his aggressiveness on the field speaks for itself. In the spring, Abram unintentionally ended the spring game prematurely after his vicious hit on teammate Bennie Braswell III.

There was nothing malicious about Abram’s intentions, that’s just all he knows when he’s on the field.

“I just leave it all on the field," Abram said. "More than anything, I don’t focus on injuring myself or injuring someone else. That’s never the case. I’m just going to give it my all.”

Abram’s style of play is bound to leave him bruised and banged up, but he understands it comes with the territory. He wasn’t 100 percent for the first game of the season against Charleston Southern and spent just a few plays on the field.

The talented junior safety got his first start last weekend when he played against Louisiana Tech and made an impact with seven tackles and a tackle for loss.

“It was pretty good," Abram said of being back in the SEC. "I’m glad to be back more than anything. I’m not going to say that it’s been tough, but it’s been different. It helped me get to where I am now.”